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From a Carol Award finalist and US Today bestselling author, Mary Ellis, What Happened on Beale Street: Cousins and private investigators Nate and Nicki head to Memphis at the request of their childhood friend Danny — but when they arrive, Danny is missing. Can Nate and Nicki unravel family secrets and solve a baffling mystery? A suspenseful Christian read! NOW $1.99 at Amazon, Kobo, and Google

We’re giving away some truly great prizes! You can cuddle up under this beautiful quilt while you snack on Brownie Brittle, gaze at your new Christmas ornaments, and read books by the Suspense Sisters! You’ll also get some great bookmarks to keep your place.

Driving? Listen to our audio books! Out in the cold? A gorgeous scarf from Israel will help you stay warm.

And you can keep all of your gifts in an awesome tote bag!

If we don’t give you every book you want? Use a $25.00 Amazon card to buy more!

Just follow the easy steps below to enter. Winner will be announced on December 23rd!

Thanks for following the Suspense Sisters, and please remember the Reason for the Season: Jesus Christ is born!

In this Southern mystery, a murder draws private investigators Mike Preston and Beth Kirby into a web of danger… From a Carol Award finalist who “has proven she can write an outstanding suspenseful book while keeping true to her faith and values” (RT Book Reviews).$1.99$14.99AmazonBarnes & NobleGoogleKobo

As most of my readers know, I love traveling around the country for my fictional books. Whether my research takes me to big cities like Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans or Memphis, small towns like Natchez, Mississippi or Jesup, Georgia, or forgotten mountain hideaways like Balsam, North Carolina, I’m enchanted by the South. I love the slower pace, the slower speech patterns and the wonderful food. This past year I learned to love cheesy shrimp and grits, steamed oysters, and she-crab soup.

But since I’m a country girl who loves getting her hands dirty in my garden, I’m always intrigued by the plants which grow where the winters don’t get as cold and snowy as (northern) Ohio’s. Here are eight of my favorite plants that don’t grow where I live, plus the magnificent magnolia tree, which does grow here, but is far less common up north. (My photo is from one of my neighbor’s two magnolias in her front yard. Some people have all the luck!) All photos except the magnolia were taken on the coast of Georgia.

l) camellias – they were blooming everywhere in February! What a treat!!

2) saw palmetto – used often in landscape borders. According to one landscaper, it’s the berries that are being used in prostate research. Fan-shaped plant must have the “saw” teeth in order to have those berries.

3) palmetto palms – close to the ground, grows abundantly in all coastal natural areas

4) loblolly pine – aka, southern yellow pine. I saw huge forests of them in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South and North Carolina. For timber industry, it’s the most commercially important tree in Southeastern US.

6) palm trees – I just learned some get coconuts, some don’t. Majestic trees, but don’t stand up well to hurricane force winds.

7) live oaks – the tree which most of us Yankees associate with the deep South. Cute little acorns. Keeps its leaves year-round, which means it’s always losing some year-round, so you’re never down raking or blowing leaves. And you almost never see one without the ubiquitous Spanish moss.

8) bamboo – found tall, thick stands of this used as privacy fences everywhere. Much cheaper than chain-link!! Some places it has become downright invasive!

9) magnolia – quintessential “Southern” flower (but it does grow up north too.) (on very bottom of post)

I know there are plenty of other southern plants that I didn’t include, but I saw these everywhere I went on St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island, Georgia.

Tell me what plant or flower you love to see on vacation that doesn’t grow where you live for a chance to win a copy of The Amish Sweet Shop. Please leave an email address. US and Canada only.

Whenever I travel to a new area of the country, I take my same old culinary tastes with me. The first time someone asked: Would you like potatoes or grits with those eggs? I asked: What exactly is a grit? Up north, grit is what you’re left with after the dentist cleans your teeth. Now twenty years later, I have come to love those little offshoots of white corn (also called hominy) especially if they’re buried under a thick layer of cheese and topped with grilled shrimp! I spent the month of February on Jekyll Island which holds an annual Shrimp and Grits Festival every September. Thousands turn up to sample and judge for themselves who has the best recipe. After spending three months on the barrier islands of Georgia to research book 3 of Marked for Retribution Mysteries, I ate cheesy shrimp and grits many times. (Note: photo on left taken at Horton Cemetery on Jekyll Island. Horton was one of Jekyll’s early settlers.) Here’s one recipe that’s both delicious and easy to make. Enjoy!

#1 In a medium sized skillet cook bacon or medium high heat to desired crispness then chop. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Drain bacon grease but reserve approximately one tablespoon in the pan for cooking the shrimp.

#2 Add the shrimp to the grease and cook until shrimp are no longer pink, around 5 minutes. (Optional: add chopped garlic or Cajun seasonings if you prefer spicy while cooking shrimp) I like to add a bit of lemon juice and salt and pepper.

#3 Follow the recipe on the box for Quick Grits. Bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Reduce the heat and add grits slowly, stirring constantly until the grits start to thicken. Then stir in 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheddar. Continue stirring cheese is melted. Can add milk or cream if necessary.

When a wealthy socialite, owner of the largest yacht manufacturer on the Gulf Coast, is found dead, PI Kate Weller is sent on assignment to investigate. Plenty of people would benefit from this socialite’s demise, including her daughter, Lainey. But Agnes Westin created plenty of enemies on her climb to the top, both socially and in business, many with a taste for revenge. When Kate arrives in the only town she could ever call home, Pensacola, she must face why she’s been on the run for years. As a child she witnessed the crime which sent her brother, Liam, to jail. Now someone wants to make sure her suppressed memories stay buried. Can she find Agnes Westin’s killer and clear her brother’s name before their hometown enemy silences them forever?

Are you pining for summer? Thinking about warm days? Sitting by the lake? Sipping lemonade? Sounds great. But to really enjoy summer you need good books, right? Well, how about sixteen stories by some of Christian Fictions most popular suspense and mystery authors?

SUMMER OF SUSPENSE is now available for preorder at Apple and Barnes and Noble. This anthology collection will release on August 6th. After the release week, the book price will be $9.99, so don’t miss out on this amazing read for just .99.

SUMMER OF SUSPENSE is now available for preorder at Apple and Barnes and Noble. This anthology collection will release on August 6th. After the release week, the book price will be $9.99, so don’t miss out on this amazing read for just .99.